CHAPTER XXIX.

THE USE OF CREATURES AS STEPS TO ASCEND TO GOD.

THE multitude and greatness of created things manifest the power of the Creator; their beauty and qualities show forth His wisdom; their usefulness declares His goodness. How many things hath God created ] Do thou number the stars of heaven, the sands of the sea, the dust of the earth, the drops of rain, the feathers of birds, the scales of fishes, the hairs of quadrupeds, the leaves and fruits of trees. Number the men, the birds, the cattle, the plants, the stones; count all other things, if thou canst; if thou canst 76not, confess that they are innumerable. How are the things which God hath created? Measure the weight of the mountains, the waters of the rivers, the space of the plains, the height of Leaven, the depth of the abyss. Again, how small are the things which God hath created! For they also relate to quantity; and it requires no less power to create small things out of nothing than the greatest. How small, therefore, are the things created by God! Passing over inanimate things, consider the butterflies, gnats, and flies; the centipedes, ants, and moths; think of all the kinds of insects and animalcules.

Then how fitting, how fair, are all the creations of God! Look into the structure of the human body, behold the fabric of the heavens, consider the disposition of the elements, and the vicissitudes of the seasons, with all other created things; everywhere thou wilt find wonderful harmony, marvellous adaptation and ornament. For, if thou wilt contemplate even the leaf of a tree, thou wilt discover in it a work of stupendous skill. Thou wilt see how fitly it is strongest where it is nearest to the branch of the tree; thou wilt see how beautifully it spreads out, and forms itself, how skilfully it is guarded all round by serrated teeth, and interwoven here and there with ribs; compare any one with another of the same kind; thou wilt find as many teeth in one as in the other; as many ribs in one as in the other; and the same shape in both. What, again, is fairer than light? What pleasanter than the serene sky? What more glorious than the brilliant sunshine? What more 77perfect than the order of the moon and the stars? What more lovely than the elegance of the various flowers? What more pleasing than the time of spring? when the gardens, the meadows, the woods, the fields, clothed with reviving beauty, exhibit to us a most delightful spectacle; when the seeds of herbs and little plants, by a power latent in their nature, infused by the Creator Himself, spring forth wonderfully out of the earth, and, with thin stems rising upwards, as if spurning death, appositely illustrate the glory of the future resurrection. I speak not of those things which seem unshapely; for even in their unshapeliness there is, sometimes, a beauty, which not a little modifies their appearance. I pass on to those things which delight the hearing, the smell, the taste, and the touch. What more grateful than the song of the nightingale and the lark? What more pleasing than the modulations of the harp and lyre? What more sweet than the perfume of roses and lilies? What more delightful than the savour of various fruits and condiments? What softer than silk and fine linen? I omit here both rough and bitter things.

But, behold all things, both great and small, beautiful and unsightly, sweet and bitter, soft and rough, were formed by the Supreme Creator for His own praise, and for the benefit, the use, the teaching, and the solace of man. We have mentioned a few things, because our space will not allow us to speak of many; but neither can the mind comprehend all things, nor can they be expressed in words.

Do thou learn from what hath been said to philosophise on those things of which we have not spoken. Contemplate all things with a grateful mind. Speak occasionally to thyself these or similar words: O how powerful and how great is He who created so many and such immense creatures! O how beauteous and how sweet is He who made things so lovely and so attractive! O how good and how liberal is He who has given us all those things! In this manner do thou pass through creatures to the Creator, in creatures admire their Maker; with creatures praise their Benefactor. If the eyes of the mind are purified, so that thou canst also contemplate the invisible creatures of God, the rational soul adorned with purity and holiness, the Angels, the Virtues, Powers, Dominations, and the other citizens of the heavenly abodes, these miracles will overwhelm thee, and well nigh transport thee altogether beyond thyself.